This invention relates to a seat adjuster or track assembly for supporting a vehicle seat for selective back and forth adjustment in the passenger compartment of the vehicle.
Typically, the front seat of the vehicle is supported by two adjustable track assemblies, there being one track assembly beneath the seat along each side thereof. Each assembly comprises an upper track secured to the lower side of the seat and supported on a lower track to move back and forth in the passenger compartment. The lower track is anchored to the floor pan of the vehicle.
In the seat adjuster of the invention, the lower track of each assembly is formed with a series of longitudinally spaced latching windows. A latch is pivotally supported on the upper track and includes at least one latching tooth which normally projects into one of the latching windows to lock the upper track against movement relative to the lower track. When the latch is pivoted about an upright axis to an unlatched position, the latching tooth is retracted out of the window to permit adjustment of the upper track and the seat carried thereby.
In some respects, the seat adjuster of the invention is similar to that disclosed in Dove et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,529. In the Dove et al seat adjuster, an operating handle is connected directly to the latch of one of the track assemblies and is connected by a wire or cable to the latch of the other track assembly. The operating handle is located beneath the seat between the two track assemblies and its forward end is located near the front of the seat. By reaching down along the front of the seat, a person may grab and swing the operating handle to release the latches and permit adjustment of the seat. In some vehicles, the operating handle--being beneath the seat and between the track assemblies--is inconveniently located and is not readily accessible to and easily actuated by the occupant of the seat.
Thoma U.S. Pat. No. 2,252,218 discloses a seat adjuster in which the operating handle is more conveniently located along the outboard side of the seat so that the occupant may simply reach down alongside the seat in order to actuate the handle and release a latch for purposes of permitting adjustment of the seat. In the Thoma arrangement, however, the operating handle is connected directly to the latch, and both turn about a laterally extending axis. While the latch is effective to hold the upper track of one of the two track assemblies, the upper track of the other assembly is not directly and positively latched and thus is not capable of resisting impact loads in the event the vehicle is involved in an accident.